


As The World Caves In

by euphoricbamon



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: All Human, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death, No Spoilers for The Last of Us Part II, No The Last of Us (Video Games) Knowledge Required, The Last of Us AU, The Last of Us Spoilers, bamon deserves more fics so here i am, minor Delena, zombie bamon au rights!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euphoricbamon/pseuds/euphoricbamon
Summary: To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive.or(a last of us bamon au that you didn't know you needed)
Relationships: Bonnie Bennett/Damon Salvatore, Caroline Forbes/Stefan Salvatore
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> hello and welcome to my fic! this idea would just not leave me alone and once i finished playing the last of us part 2 i knew that i had to write this immediately! so i hope you like it and if you haven't played the game before, i encourage that you do that, both parts are amazing :) okay and with that... enjoy!

Elena slowly gained consciousness as Damon’s voice carried throughout the living room even as he attempted to whisper. She barely caught the tail end of what he was saying.

“Yeah I know Stefan.” “Yes I-” “I was busy you know that.” “Well-” “Yeah, yeah bye.” “Love you too.”

She saw him hang up the phone and rub his temples, throwing his phone and keys on the counter before realizing that she was there.

“Hey,” Elena said softly before yawning. 

“Hey,” Damon replied before making his way over and dropping a kiss on her forehead before sitting down next to her.

“What was that about?” She asked curling into his side, his arm wrapping around her.

“Caroline was upset to find out that my birthday wasn’t celebrated properly.” He laughed.

“It would have been nice to do something…” Elena trailed off.

“I had to wo-”

“Work, yes we know so did I.” Elena said, shooting Damon a small smile.

“How was the hospital?”

“Ridiculously overcrowded and people are just so sick that I don’t know what-” She cut herself off mid sentence and practically jumped off the couch.

“Shit what time is it?” Elena asked, slipping into the kitchen.

Damon twisted his body to check the clock above him. “11:55”

“So it’s still your birthday.” She said sitting back down bringing a small box from behind her.

“I told you not to get me anything.”

“Just open it.” Elena pouted basically pushing the box into his hands.

Damon just shot her a look before unwrapping and opening the box to reveal a new watch.

“You kept complaining about your broken watch so I figured why not.”

Damon slowly took it out of the box and put it around his wrist. “I mean I love it ‘Lena but I think it’s stuck…” He trailed off tapping the watch, bringing it to his ear. Elena grabbed his wrist before shoving him.

“You’re hilarious, really.” She huffed before curling up on the couch and slowly drifting off, the lulling noise of the T.V putting her to sleep.

+++

As Elena slowly woke up she noticed that she was back in her and Damon’s bed, the phone was ringing, and that her fiancé was nowhere to be seen. She reached for the phone and drowsily answered.

“Hello?”

“Elena, shit, is Damon there?”

Elena could detect the worry in Stefan’s voice and sat up a little bit straighter.

“He’s not _right here_ but he’s around here somewhere is something wro-” He interrupted her.

“Yeah just have him call me as soon as you find him okay?”

“Okay, Stefan are you sure there-”

He hung up before she could bother to finish her sentence.

“What is going on?” She muttered to herself as she walked out of her and Damon’s room.

“Damon?” She called walking down the hallway. Elena peeked into the bathroom then continued down the hall..

“Damon.” She tried again, heading towards their movie room where light was peeking out from under the door.

“Elena pushed open the door to find no Damon but the news on.

_“What was first thought to be riots seems to be connected to the increased illnesses and hospitalizations.”_

Elena was kind of freaked out now. “Where the hell are you?” She mumbled going to turn the t.v off as the reporter continued.

_“People who have been infected seem to be becoming more hostile and aggressive-”_

_“Ma’am we’re gonna need you to move.” A firefighter interrupts seemingly trying to get her out of the vicinity._

_The news reporter keeps talking._

_“Lady get out of here.” The firefighter says, raising his voice._

_“A lot of commotion is going on behind me-”_

_“Get the hell out of h-”_

Elena jumped and quickly turned towards the window as something big downtown exploded and the T.V went to static.

She peered outside the window as dogs began barking at the general direction of the explosion.

Elena was really worried now. She pulled herself away from the window.

“Damon!” She yelled, not bothering to mask the worry that had slipped into her tone. She made her way downstairs continuing to yell Damon’s name to no response.

As she passed the front window downstairs, three cop cars sped by the house. She walked through the living room and into the kitchen and yet there was still no sign of her fiancé, besides his phone buzzing on the counter which she picked up.

_8 missed calls (Stefan)_

_Text: Where the hell are you?? CALL ME!_

_Text: On my way_

Elena set the phone down and wrapped her robe tighter around her body. As she made her way towards the office, an unfamiliar feeling of dread engulfed her.

The second she opened the door Damon ran through the office’s sliding door, and slammed it shut behind him.

“There you are are, you scar-”

“Elena, shit, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” She replied hesitantly because why _wouldn’t_ she be.

“Has anyone come in here.” He asks quickly, reaching for their safe where they kept a gun.

“No, who would come in here? Damon you’re-”

Damon cut her off.

“Don’t go near the doors..just stand back there.”

“Babe you’re kinda freaking me out.” Elena pauses. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

By this point she can see that he’s loaded the gun, which isn’t helping calm any of her worries.

“You know how you’ve been saying that people at the hospital have been getting sick,” he paused for a moment. “Like _weirdly_ sick. Well the Taylor’s, I think they is something wrong with th-”

Damon was cut off by Adam Taylor slamming his body into the glass door.

“Damon.” Elena cautioned her voice rising an octave higher.

Damon pulled her behind him as their neighbor once again threw his body into the door.

“It’s gonna be okay ‘Lena.”

Adam slammed his body back into the door for a third time and Elena felt her fiancé’s hands shaking.

“Adam!” Damon yelled as the man threw his weight into the door again causing it to shatter and him to come crashing into the office.

“Just stay back!” Damon tried again but Adam had already stood up and that was when Elena took in his appearance. His clothes were ripped and covered in blood, his skin pale and blistering. She only had taken him in for a moment, when everything seemed to happen at once.

Before she realized, Adam had charged at them and Damon had raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

She was vaguely aware that Damon had been pulling her back into the living room when she opened her mouth.

“Stefan called.” Elena hears herself say because she can’t really process what just happened because _fuck,_ she just saw her fiancé put a bullet in her neighbor’s head who she had waved to this morning. Suddenly, it hits her that she might be in hell and the only thing she was capable of saying was _Stefan called_.

It all seemed to hit her at once.

“You shot him.” Elena practically whispers.

Damon started talking like she hadn’t said a word.

“Elena listen to me it’s going to be alright. Something bad is happening and we just need to get out of here, okay.” He said sternly, his hands gripping her shoulders.

Normally she would have bitten back at his tone but the only thing to come out of her mouth was, “Yeah, okay.”

Headlights flashed in the window as Damon once again grabbed her hand.

“Stefan.Let's go.” 

Elena had somewhat composed herself and followed behind Damon as they headed out the front door.

“Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea what’s going on out there?’ Stefan all but yelled at Damon, as he stepped out of the drivers side of his car.

“I got some notion.” Damon spat back as he let go of Elena’s hand, opening the backdoor of the car for her.

“Holy shit,” She heard Stefan exclaim as Damon shut the door after she got in. “You got blood all over you.” 

“It ain’t mine. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Hey you alright?” Caroline asked from the seat next to Elena causing her to jump.

“I’ll be okay, you?”

“Holding it together.” Caroline said, giving her a small smile.

Stefan had started the car and backed out of the driveway.

“They’re saying it’s a parasite or something, half the people in the city seem to be losing their minds.” Stefan stated, putting the car in drive and taking off down the road.

“Did they say where to go?” Damon asked, trying his best to remain as calm as possible.

“News said that the army was coming in, putting up roadblocks on the highway, not getting into Travis County.” Stefan replied.

“That means we need to get the hell out of it.” Damon muttered. “Take 71.”

Elena unconsciously had locked hands with Caroline as she tried to stop herself from spiraling. 

“Did they say how many are dead?” Caroline spoke up.

“A lot it looks like,” Stefan responded. “They found one family all mangled up in their house-”

“Stefan,” Damon interrupted a firm tone to his voice.

“Right, sorry.”

It was a few moments before Damon spoke again.

“Jesus Christ how did this happen?” 

“They don’t know, at first they were saying it was just the south, now they’re saying the east coast, west coast-” Stefan started but stopped as they drove past a house completely engulfed in flames.

“Holy shit.” Caroline whispered as they looked out the window at the farm house.

“These people they’re sick.” Elena said, speaking for the first time. 

“And how do we know we aren’t sick?” Caroline interrupted.

“We aren’t, they’re saying it’s infecting people who work in the city like-”

“Doctors,” Elena interrupted.

Stefan hesitated for a moment and shot her a look in the mirror, “Yeah probably.”

Elena felt something is her stomach drop and all of the sudden everything felt much more real.

“Adam worked in the city, at that bank or something.” Elena said without really thinking.

Damon shot her a look before turning back to focus on the road ahead of them.

Stefan had slowed down as they approached what seemed to be a family, stranded on the side of the road.

“What are you doing, keep driving.” Damon turned on Stefan.

“They have a kid, Damon.” Stefan said exasperated.

“Keep driving.” Damon gritted through his teeth.

Stefan shot the group a sympathetic look but continued driving anyway.

“You haven’t seen what I have,” Damon paused. “Someone else will come along.”

“We should have helped them.” Caroline mumbled, but didn’t push the subject any further.

They continued down the road, coming up on the 71.

“Fuck.” She heard Stefan say as she could see that cars were backed up at the exit for miles at a complete standstill trying to get out of the county.

“We could just backtrack and-” Damon started when the person from the car in front of them got out and began yelling.

“Seriously, what the fuck man, let’s go-” He yelled before another person came from seemingly out of nowhere and attacked him, threw him on the ground, and took a bite out of his throat. Elena could see he wore a hospital gown and that he seemed to look like Adam when she had encountered him.

“Stefan turn us around!” Damon yelled as Stefan jerked the car into reverse and turned it to the right, speeding down the road again.

“What the fuck just happened? What the fuck just happened!” Stefan said panic seeped into his voice. “Did you see that?”

“Yes I saw it.” Damon shot back.

Stefan continued driving when all of the sudden Damon yelled, “Turn here! Turn here!”

The second they turned Damon realized that they were in trouble. Groups of people were running past their car and a large R.V was left abandoned in the middle of the road, making it hard for them to continue moving forward.

‘What are they running from?” Elena asked even though she knew she probably could guess.

“Get us out of here.” Damon said not betraying the panic that was running through his body. “We can’t stop here Stefan.”

“I can’t fucking drive through them Damon!”

“Back up then!”

“They’re behind me too!”

“There! There! Go!” Damon yelled as a path had cleared, leaving enough room for the car to get between the abandoned R.V and the sidewalk.

Stefan hit the gas and maneuvered through the gap, they had barely crossed through the intersection when the last thing Elena remembered was the truck slamming into the driver’s side of the car.

+++

When Elena came to, the first thing she noticed was that her head felt like it was being pounded in by a jackhammer. The second was that her leg felt like it was on fire. She slowly sat up and did her best to steady herself. The car was flipped on its side and chaos seemed to have erupted outside.

Damon was on his side, blood dripping from his head, but Elena could see that he was breathing. She turned her head, noticing that Stefan and Caroline were both gone from the car.

“Damon.” She tried, scooting towards him, while trying not to cut herself on multiple shards of glass. “Damon!” She tried again.

This time, Damon seemed to have stirred. He slowly opened his eyes, and immediately looked outside the car. A man was being torn apart by the infected and he didn’t have any plans of meeting the same fate.

‘Back up.” He managed to get out as he began kicking the window, which quickly broke.

He had managed to slip himself out of the car and take in his surroundings for only a moment before an infected person slammed Damon back into the car. Blood splattered his face as the infected spat and growled, trying to bite him. He was losing ground fast when Stefan appeared and smashed a brick over the infected’s head, killing them instantaneously.

“Damon.” He heard Elena say from back inside the car.

He quickly bent down and turned back. “I’m here, I’m here, give me your hand.”

Damon pulled her out of the car but when she tried to stand up, she collapsed in his arms.

“What is it?” He asked worriedly.

“My leg, I can’t walk.” Elena replied shakily, tears threatening to spill over.

“We’re gonna need to run.” Damon heard Caroline say, who must have gotten out of the car with Stefan’s help. Damon heard the infected and people screaming and it felt like he was gonna throw up. “Oh my god.”

Damon reached around and gave the gun he had to Stefan.

“Keep us safe.” Damon pleaded, as he picked Elena up bridal style. “Come on baby, just hold on okay.” 

Damon took off and followed Stefan and Caroline up the street. Their small part of the world had seemed to have fallen into complete chaos. Elena watched as people ran and screamed, the number of infected people seeming to grow by the minute.

“Damon, I’m scared.” Elena said her voice trembling.

Infected people seemed to be flooding the streets as Elena witnessed several people meet gruesome fates.

“Just keep your eyes closed okay.” And even though Elena knew she would probably benefit, she just couldn’t look away from the madness. As they continued running, a car crashed into a gas station ahead of them causing a giant explosion.

“This way!” Stefan yelled from in front of them, turning off to another road.

Damon and Elena continued behind him as Elena watched the turmoil unfold from Damon’s arms.

“They’re still people.” Elena said, watching the infected run what seemed to be _willingly_ into burning buildings. “Some part of them knows what they’re doing and just can’t stop it.”

Damon didn’t respond to her and kept following after Stefan and Caroline. They avoided the infected as much as they could, but the numbers were becoming overwhelming.

“Through this alley! This way!” Damon heard Stefan yell as he caught up to his brother as they turned and cut between two buildings. Not ten feet down the alley, an infected man had come from behind a dumpster and jumped on Damon. He managed to hold it off for a moment before Stefan shot it in the ribs.

“He’s dead let’s go.” Stefan said continuing up the alley as Damon, Elena, and Caroline followed him.

“We’re almost there, baby.” Elena heard Damon whisper to her and she really hoped that whatever happened, however any of this was going to end, she got a chance to marry him.

They turned, and the group had made it to an outdoor patio of a restaurant. They cut through the tables and hurried into the building, infected following behind them. Stefan slammed the door behind them, but the infected had stopped it from closing all the way and were trying to push open the door.

“Get to the highway!” Stefan yelled, struggling to keep the door closed. “Go! You have Elena, I’ll be fine!”

“I’m staying with you.” Caroline said.

Stefan looked like he wanted to fight her but turned towards Damon.

“We can out run them, just go!”

“I’ll meet you there!” Damon yelled as he turned and ran out the opposite door of the bar.

It opened up to a small patio and a dirt path just beyond that.

“We can’t leave them!” Elena tried, but Damon had already slipped through the barrier and was heading towards the highway, down the dirt road, and through the brush.

Damon continued moving as fast as he could while carrying Elena. Damon sped up as they passed an overturn ambulance where he could hear growling coming from. He caught the infected out of his peripheral vision as it gained ground on him quickly. Just as the infected was about to make its move, from seemingly out of nowhere, they were shot dead by someone in front of him. 

“It’s okay Elena, we’re safe.” He said to her, then turned to what looked like a soldier. “Hey, we need help, please. My fiancée, I think her leg is broken-”

“Stop right there!” The man yelled pointing his gun at them.

“We’re not sick.” Damon tried to reason. The man paused then spoke again.

“Got a couple of civilians outside of the perimeter. Please advise.” The soldier said into his mic.

“What about Stefan and Caroline?” Elena asked Damon as the soldier seemed to be listening to whoever was talking in his ear.

“We’re gonna get you somewhere safe, then go back for them. Okay?”

Elena nodded as the soldier began talking outloud to whoever he was taking orders from.

“But sir there’s a woman she’s hurt.” He paused.”But-” He tried again but was cut off.

He sighed and then spoke again. “Yes sir.”

“Listen buddy we’ve just been through hell okay. We just need-” Damon cut himself off as the soldier raised his gun.

“Oh shit.” Damon turned as the gun fired and he tripped down a hillside, Elena falling from his arms.

Damon groaned as he rolled on to his back, the soldier wasting no time, stood over him. “Please don’t.” 

Before the man could do anything, a bullet went into his head, killing him. His body slumped onto the ground next to Damon.

Stefan still had the gun pointed at the soldier's body as Damon slowly sat up.

“Oh no…” Caroline trailed off, her eyes focused behind him. Damon quickly turned around toward Elena who was trying to stop the blood that was spilling from her stomach.

“Elena!” He said as he reached her, bringing one of his hands behind her head. Elena was crying as she reached for Damon.

“Move your hands baby.” Damon said, trying his best to help her as she continued crying. Damon placed his hands over the gunshot wound, trying his best to keep the blood from pouring out.

“Listen to me okay, I know it hurts, but you're gonna be fine, just stay with me. We’re getting married, yeah, we’re gonna have a family, we’re gonna grow old.” Damon was crying at this point as he tried to pick her up.

“Damon..” Stefan trailed off looking down at them, not bothering to hide the fact that he was crying too.

Damon looked up at Stefan then back to Elena who had gone quiet.

“Elena…” Damon whispered on his knees as he held Elena’s body in his arms. “Please don’t do this to me baby please. Wake up, please…no...no.”

Damon pulled her body closer to him and cried.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was super motivated and decided to put out this chapter today since I had the time! Hope y'all enjoy!

Damon shot out of his bed, his breath coming in heaves. He didn’t remember what he was dreaming about, but if he had to guess, it wasn’t pleasant. Damon looked to his left as the sun barely peeked through the blinds,  _ why the hell was he awake so ear- _

A loud knock came from his door as he stood up and ran his hands over his face.

“I’m coming.” He yelled walking towards the front door of his small apartment. He swung open the door and immediately sighed.

Rose stood before him, her face covered in cuts and bruises. She slipped past him and into his kitchen.

“How was your morning?” She asked, reaching for a bottle of bourbon that was open on his counter, pouring herself a glass. “Want one?”

Damon ran his hand through his hair. “No I don’t… want one.”

“Well I have some interesting news for you.” Rose brushed him off, taking a seat on the counter.

“Where were you Rose?”

“West end district.” She replied, taking a sip from her drink. “We had a drop to make.”

“Exactly Rose.  _ We. _ ”

“Yeah well.. you wanted to be left alone, remember.”

Damon had grabbed a rag and ran it under some water, and handed it to Rose. She grabbed it and began wiping the cut on her cheek and forehead.

“So I’ll take one guess.” Damon started turning away from her. “The whole deal went south and the client made off with our pills.”

Rose began chuckling as Damon paced the floor. “The deal went off without a hitch. Enough ration cards to last us a couple months- easy.” She finished pulling the cards from out of her pocket and throwing them on the table.

Damon turned and crossed his arms over his chest.

“You wanna explain this?” He said gesturing to her beat up face.

“I was on my way back here and I got jumped by these two assholes alright? And yeah they got a few good hits in but.. Look, I managed okay.”

“Give me that.” Damon huffed out, grabbing the rag from Rose. The two sat down at the dining room table as Damon began wiping the cuts on her face again.

“Are these assholes still with us?” He asked as his hand brushed across her cheek as she gave him a small smile.

“Now that’s funny.” Rose teased as Damon pulled the rag away, his left hand still on her cheek.

“Did you find out who they were?”

“Yeah, look, they were a bunch of nobodies, they don’t matter.” She snapped, grabbing his hand from her face. “What matters is that Logan fucking sent them.”

Damon shot her an incredulous look. “Our Logan?”

“Look, He knows we’re after him Damon, he figures that he’s gonna get us first.”

Damon turned away from her and began pacing again. “That son of a bitch, he’s smart.”

“No, he isn’t smart enough.” She replied, stepping in front of him to stop him from continuing to pace. “I know where he’s hiding.”

“Like hell you do.”

Rose stepped away from him and looked out the small window. “Old warehouse in Area 5-” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Can’t say for how long though.”

“Well I’m ready now, yeah?”

“Oh yeah, let’s kill this asshole, then maybe we can get that drink.”

* * *

The sky was an ugly gray color as Damon and Rose made their way out of the building, trying their best to ignore the armed soldiers that lined the rooftops around them. Trash covered the sidewalks and stragglers rummaged through it, trying to find their next meal.

“The checkpoint’s still open.” Rose said, shooting a glance at him over her shoulder.

“We only have a few hours left until curfew.” Damon reminded her.

“We better hurry up then.”

The pair began walking, Damon, catching the conversation of a group of people who looked like they were having a far worse time getting by than him.

“Are you serious?” One person in the group exclaimed.

“Yep, got served the papers this morning. Outside work duty.”

“Outside work is supposed to be covered by soldiers, they know how dangerous it is out there.”

“I’ll make sure to tell them that.” The girl joked as Damon continued walking behind Rose.

“What about you Damon?” The girl said, turning her head towards him and Rose as they continued down the street. “You get summoned for this bullshit yet?”

“Nope.”  
“Yeah… I bet.” She scoffed as Rose called for him to keep up. He jogged up to her as she just rolled her eyes.

“Glad to see you making friends.”

Damon just shoved her as they turned out of the side street and out onto the main road.

_ “Attention, all citizens need to have their current ID badges with them at all times. Compliance with all city personnel is mandatory.”  _ A woman's voice droned over the loudspeakers that had recently been installed all over the city.

“Look at that.” Rose said, pulling Damon’s attention towards her. “The ration station hasn’t opened up yet, they must be running low again.” The small building was probably the most run down on the block as people hung around hoping to get the first of whatever they had managed to cook up this month.

For about the last three weeks, rations had been down to the bare minimum per person. People had been more on edge and Damon felt like at any moment things were just going to boil ov-

“This is fucking bullshit! I bet uniforms over there don’t get half rations!” A man yelled and his friend attempted to shut him up. “Keep your voice down. What’s wrong with you?”

Damon continued behind Rose as the two continued their conversation.

“I don’t even care anymore, let them take me, as long as I don’t become one of those  _ things. _ ”

Elena’s voice seemed to hit him like a truck all of the sudden.

_ “They’re still people. Some part of them knows what they’re doing and just can’t stop it.” _

Damon quickly pushed it out of his head as he continued down the street at Rose’s side. 

“Seems like more people are getting infected.” Rose says quietly as a group of soldiers scanned a group of people they had pulled from a condemned building. 

“That just means more people are sneaking out.” He shot back. They had finally reached the checkpoint as Damon let Rose take the lead.

“I got us new papers, they shouldn’t give us any trouble.”

Damon gave her a nod as they approached the checkpoint.

The officer gave them a look over as Rose handed him their ID’s. “What’s your business on this side of town?” The officer asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Day off.” Damon replied smoothly. “We’re going to visit a friend.”

The officer handed their ID’s back to Rose and nodded. “Alright, move on through.”

Before the two could take a step, a truck just past the checkpoint exploded.

“Oh shit.”

“Get out of here go!” The officer yelled, pushing them back outside the gate and slamming it shut.

“Fireflies!” Another officer yelled as Rose grabbed Damon’s arm.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” 

She led the way as they took off, back down the street that they had come from.

“In here!” She yelled, running towards a large building. Damon quickly followed her through the front door and closed it behind him.

“So much for the easy route huh?” She chuckled as she turned towards him. ‘Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, let’s just go find Logan then kick his ass.”

Rose snorted before turning and bringing her hand to a cut on his forehead. “Just patch yourself up, when we get back I can check you over.”

“That’s hot.”

Rose hit him in the back of the head before turning and beginning to walk down the main hallway. He quickly caught up with her as she began talking again.

“They're gonna close all the checkpoints again, we’re gonna have to go around the outside.”

“Outside the wall?” 

“Or we could just let Logan go.” Rose said, shooting him a look.

“That’s funny.” He bit back as they turned down another hall.

“Hey Rose, you see that shit?” A man standing against the left wall said, now walking in stride with them.

“I was there, hey how’s the east tunnel looking?” She asked.

“It’s clear, I just used it, no patrols.”

“Where are you two off to?”

“We’re going to pay Logan a visit.” 

“You too?”

“Who else is looking for him?” Rose questioned.

“Nora, she’s been asking around, trying to find him.”

“What do the Fireflies want with Logan?” Damon spoke up for the first time.

The man gave a short laugh. “You’d think she’d tell me?”

‘Well what did you tell her?” Rose interrupted.

“The truth. I have know idea where he’s hiding.”

“Good man. Hey you take care of yourself alright?”

“Yeah you too Rose.” The man finished turning left as Damon and Rose went to the right.

“Nora looking for Logan, what do you make of that?” Rose asked Damon quietly.

“I don’t like it, let’s just find him before the Fireflies do.”

The two continued down the hall in silence until they came up on the last door on the right.

“This is us.”

The room was fairly empty besides a couch that two men were sitting on, and a bookcase that didn’t have any books. The brown paint was peeling and the wooden floor was chipping. 

“Hey guys, how’s it going.” Damon offered as Rose lingered just behind him.

“Shit’s really stirring up out there.” Rose said, stepping next to him “How are we looking over here?”

“It’s been quiet, no sign of infected or military.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Rose moved over towards the bookcase gesturing for Damon to follow her. “Give me a hand with this thing.”

He positioned himself on the other side of the bookcase and began pulling it and Rose pushed. They had moved it about five feet to the right to reveal a hole that Damon knew led to the basement, which led to the outside.

“Ladies first.”

Rose just shot him a glare as she jumped down the hole, Damon quickly followed her. It was about a six foot drop into complete darkness.

“God, this place reeks. They need to watch what they throw away down here.” He heard Rose say from somewhere to his left. A light suddenly turned on as she found the light switch.

“Let there be light.”

Damon made his way over towards Rose as she headed towards the far side of the basement. “Let’s grab our gear.”

He jogged to catch up to her, jumping over a large pipe that was now exposed. The building was basically falling apart, but the basement in particular seemed to be the worst. Wires and pipes were completely exposed, the walls had various holes in them, and the floor was basically soaked in water.

“Our backpacks are still here from last time.” Rose said as they made their way to a table that, to Damon’s surprise, hadn’t been touched since the last time they came this way. He grabbed the bag and rummaged through it to pull out his handgun.

“Not a lot of ammo.” Damon mumbled as he went to reload the gun.

“Gotta make every shot count then.” Rose said, throwing her bag onto one shoulder. “Come give me a lift Salvatore.”

She made her way over to a wall that had crumbled slightly, leading to a ledge just at the top where they could slip through.

Damon lowered himself so Rose could step onto his hands as he lifted her and pull herself up.

“You ready?” 

Damon just shook his head as he lifted her up and she pulled herself onto the ledge. She turned and reached her hand back down towards him.

“Come on.”

He took a few steps back before using his momentum to grab onto Rose’s hand and the ledge to lift himself up. They took no time and walked about three feet before Damon reached up and lifted the board above them up.

“Go on.” 

Rose quickly climbed through the opening and once she was up onto the floor, held the board up so Damon could slip through.

Light shined through the windows as Damon stood up. The room was an old bar that had been run down a while ago, the tile was cracked and worn and plants were growing into the building.

“Be careful.” Damon yelled to Rose as she quickly made her way outside.

“When am I not?” She shot back.

“Is that a trick question?” He replied following her out of the door. “We haven’t been out here in a long time.”

“It’s like we’re on a date.”

“Well I am the romantic type.”

“You got your ways.” 

The pair began heading towards the other side of the forgotten town. Foliage covered the roads and had grown into the cars that were left behind. The buildings were worn as the exteriors were cracked and windows were shattered. It was a challenge on itself to even get across the street without getting tripped up by whatever was on the ground.

“Where’s the ladder?” Rose called to him as they approached a large building where a gapping chunk of the second floor wall was missing.

“It’s gotta be around here somewhere.”

Damon walked past the building and around the corner to look for the ladder as Rose checked the opposite end. He quickly found it settled behind an old car.

“Got it!” He yelled towards Rose’s direction as he grabbed the ladder and headed back to the front of the building. She watched as he placed it before stepping back and gesturing towards it. “Ladies first.”

Rose rolled her eyes at him quickly before climbing up the ladder and into the building. Damon followed quickly behind her.

“This way.”

Damon looked around as the building looked worse than the last time they had been out this way. The floor seemed to be caving in more and more as Damon did his best to avoid the weak spots. He rummaged through what remained of a kitchen, seeing if there was anything they could salvage. He then quickly made his way behind Rose and through the other rooms of the upper floor.

“Down through here!” Rose called from the bottom of what was left of a staircase. Damon caught up with her as she began walking again.

“Do you think Logan still has our guns?”

“For his sake… he better.”

“Once we get our merchandise back, it should be easy to unload.”

“Speaking of merchandise, when is our next shipment due?”

“Well, we’re meeting Kol next month. More pills and supposedly some more ammo.” Rose said all of the sudden coming to an abrupt stop. “Spores.”

Damon reached into his bag and pulled out a gas mask for himself and Rose. They quickly put them on before heading into the hallway. It was dark and filled with gas as they tried to move as quickly as possible through the infected area.

“Where are all these coming from? It was completely clear last time.”

“They’re coming from something so stay on alert.”

Damon took the lead as they crawled through a hole in the wall into another room where they realized where the spores had been stemming from.

“There’s our culprit.” Rose said standing up behind him.

“The body looks fresh, just make sure to keep your eyes open.”

The man laid against the corner of the room practically decaying as spores sprouted from and around his body, Damon had seen hundreds of people like this and worse but it still didn’t ease the pit in his stomach.

“We should be able to get through here.” Rose motioned towards a gap between a board and what was left of a desk. The second Damon began to move the board, the ceiling above him crumbled and a chunk of it fell right in front of him.

“You okay?” Rose asked tentatively.

“Yeah just be careful, the ceiling is caving in.” He said coughing for a moment. “This way.”

Damon led Rose through the gap but not one second after he was through, a man crawled out from under a knocked over cabinet and grabbed his leg.

“Jesus, watch it!” He yelled towards Rose pulling her through the gap and then behind him.

“Help me.” The man whispered as he coughed and locked eyes with Damon who was standing above him. “My mask broke. Don’t leave me here to turn.. Please.”

“What do you want to do?” Rose asked, a look in her eyes that Damon had seen a hundred times before.

_ They’re still people. Some part of them knows what they’re doing and just can’t stop it. They’re still people. Some part of them knows what they’re doing and just can’t stop it. They’re still people. Some part of them knows what they’re doin- _

Damon raised his gun and put a bullet in the man’s head.

Rose gave him a nod before turning as they continued into the next room over when they heard something move up ahead.

“Ssh. Let’s go, watch your back.”

Damon and Rose slowly moved against the wall as they tried to figure out how many infected there were. He peeked his head around the doorway and saw about three moving around, but he could hear more.

“How do you wanna handle it?” Rose whispered from next to him.

He didn’t give her a response as he moved slowly through the doorway, sneaking up on an infected and grabbing it around the neck. It thrashed against him as he choked it, eventually killing it. Damon dropped back to a low stance as he made his way towards the next doorway. 

Rose took the lead this time slipping around the corner so they were now facing two infected that were eating a body. She gave him a signal as she raised her gun and shot one of them as Damon charged the other. He pulled a knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed it in the neck. He turned to Rose, but before he could say anything, two more appeared and charged at him. He quickly raised his gun, shooting one in the head, killing it instantly. Before he could shoot the other, it was on him. 

It began clawing at his mask but he managed to raise his leg into its stomach and smash its head against the nearby wall.

“Alright, I think that’s all of them.” Rose spoke up from behind him.

Damon gave her a nod as they increased their pace through the building. They two finally made it to a staircase which they hurried up that revealed a way outside.

“Finally, let’s get out of here.”

Damon hopped down onto the grass, Rose following behind him. They took their masks off, shoving them back into his bag.

“Ahh, fresh air.” Rose sighed from behind him. “That’s the one thing I like about the outside.. I fucking hate the smell of the city.”

Damon shot Rose a small smile as they trekked through the tall grass and the mud.

“Through here!” She called motioning towards a broken piece of driftwood that was covering a hole in the brick wall.

Damon followed in behind her, climbing up and over a wall onto another ledge. A separate platform was about eight feet away but unfortunately, the plank had fallen down into the gap.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going.” He said as Rose went to open her mouth. He quickly made his way down into the gap, carefully grabbing the plank and handing it backup to Rose.

“Well aren’t you a gentleman.”

Damon just scoffed at her as he made his way up some rubble and pulled himself onto the ledge. Rose had already made her way across the plank and onto the other side. He  _ really  _ had horrible balance for someone who did this quite often, but he made it across only wobbling once.

Rose led as the two made their way out of the building's window and down the rusted stairs.

“Bossy today aren’t we.”

Rose shot him a glare over her shoulder and Damon made his way to catch up with her. They continued through back alley’s doing their best to make sure there weren’t any soldiers around. They finally reached a building where Rose easily pushed through the door and made her way towards the back where she knocked at another. They waited only a moment before a man opened it, instant recognition crossing his face.

“Rose, Damon, it’s been awhile since you too came through here.”

“Yeah well we’re on a date of sorts.” Rose said as Damon let out a snort. “Do me a favor, make sure the coast is clear? No soldiers or Logan’s men?”

The man quickly shut the door leaving Rose and Damon alone.

“You know Logan’s expecting us right?” He asked, hopping onto a counter.

“Well that’ll make it more interesting.” Rose replied, joining him.

“You’re horrible, you know that?”

Rose gave him a small shove but before she could reply, the man had returned.

“All clear.”

Damon and Rose looked at each other before hopping off the counter.

“Let’s finish this.”

Damon chuckled as he motioned towards the door.

“Ladies first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, feel free to leave feedback/comments!

**Author's Note:**

> I am not even that big of an Elena fan but yeah that one kinda hurt to write but thank you for reading, feel free to leave feedback i'd love to hear it! hopefully i will be able to update this every week but i am probably looking towards about every two weeks realistically. hope you enjoyed!!


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